


Soaked to the Bone

by Meloncholor



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Longer than I anticipated, M/M, Sweet, they are good boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 20:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meloncholor/pseuds/Meloncholor
Summary: John takes Javier fishing.





	Soaked to the Bone

It was wet and humid outside. It had rained just hours before the sun broke over the horizon; water still dripped off of the trees and the ground was soft and muddy under the trudging feet of the campers. Silently and collectively, the camp patrons had decided that this would be their day off and most of them stayed within their tents, milling away at various hobbies, while Dutch and Hosea worked out a way to get the camp moving forward.

This was the perfect day for John Marston to execute his master plan. A bundle of gangly limbs and conflicting boyish dreams left him in a strange predicament. He, like the others, was holed up in his hovel of a tent fiddling with a fishing lure and cursing to himself as the thin iridescent metal scratched at his unskilled fingers. Javier would like it, he _had_ to. John’s entire future and happiness depended on that subject, or at least John believed that to be true. It was just a stroke of luck that he overheard Hosea talking to Dutch that one early morning nearly a month ago.

_“He may not speak much of English, but that Escuella boy sure does love fishing.”_

And it was the perfect catalyst to get the raccoon in John’s head on the proverbial mouse wheel. He had worked for weeks on the tiny token, spending what little money he earned from odd jobs in the towns they passed on scraps of metal and special adhesive to make the little mock-fish sparkle perfectly. He prayed to God, for the second time in his life, that Javier would like it.  He sat cross-legged on top of his cot, turning the lure over in his fingers to make sure it was just as perfect as he needed it to be. Javier was probably the expert after all. There was an odd noise coming from his stomach while he thought about him seeing the lure and John could feel his face get hot. All those little feelings just bubbled inside him, ready to burst out of his chest. Every time they spoke it was like his mouth was running away from him, and he could barely get himself to see straight.

Satisfied with the final result, he sniffed and rubbed at his nose, getting off of his cot. He grabbed the fishing rod resting in the corner of the tent, bent a bit in an odd angle. John took a deep breath and shoved himself through the opening in his tent, coming in contact with the hot oppressive air. It was a bittersweet feeling, as his nervous sweat would not be particularly out of place, but he wanted to look as best he could when he asked Javier. John stalked through the camp, the special lure hidden in his front pocket, uncomfortably poking him in the thigh. No one else was outside, other than Arthur and some of the others who never seemed to rest on their own, he was careful to avoid them; honestly, even if he _wanted_ them to pay attention to him they probably wouldn’t. He snaked between the tents, peeking around corners for the object of his affections. After a few minutes of awkward searching, John finally found him, idly whittling a piece of wood underneath the shade of an oak tree a few paces away from his tent. He was sitting on a small worn blanket, dressed in an old shirt John had loaned to him that was a bit loose around his neck and shoulders, and a pair of pants Hosea had to go out and buy because nobody in camp was that skinny. He was humming to himself as the wood was chipped away from its base, and he inspected it, apparently pleased with his work. John’s eyes lit up when he saw him, and he marched over to greet his friend.

“H-hey Javier!” He chirped, the squish of his boots calling to his presence before he got close.

The other looked up, halting his ministrations. “Oh, uh hey John.” He smiled softly through the cascade of hair covering his face, shooting an arrow straight into John’s heart.

John, losing control over his motor skills twitched in the general direction of the fishing pole in his hand, “Y-you, uh, wanna go fishing?” he croaked. Again, thankful that it was already oppressively warm out because he was sweating like a pig.

Javier’s eyes sparkled like the lure hidden in John’s pocket. “You wanna go fishing with me?” He spoke with reverence, setting the wood and his knife on the ground.

“I mean o’ course! I know this little stream a mile or two away from camp.” John’s crooked smile broadened and Javier jumped up from the tree.

“Let me grab my fishing rod from my tent and meet me by the horses, I’ll be there in a second.” He said and trotted gleefully to his tent, leaving behind his tools. John, lighter than air, floated over to the horses thanking every force he knew that existed for this gracious gift given to him. The grin on his face was starting to hurt it was so wide, but he found himself unable to suppress it. He didn’t walk far to get to where Rachel and Boaz were hitched and stowed the fishing pole on her saddle. John pulled the lure from his pocket again, holding it up to the sparse light from the sun behind the clouds.

“Whatcha got there Marston?” Javier asked, bouncing over to John and the horses, his own pristine fishing rod in hand.

“J-just a lure,” John laughed to ease the new tension in his chest. “I was gonna let you try it out today.”

“Oh really?” Javier beamed, stowing his own rod and patting Boaz’s large head. “Can I see it?”

“Well, uh sure.” John stuffed the lure back into his pocket. “But only when we get there, I don’t want any getting word of the special trinket.” He laughed again, his confidence soaring.

Javier nods and jumps astride Boaz, gesturing for John to do the same.

 

-0-

 

“So, where are we going Marston?” Javier questioned, eyes wandering the trees as water dripped down onto him and his horse. They had just exited camp, and they were waved a curt goodbye by Bill Williamson. Who was patrolling out front?

“Just follow me, it’s not far from camp.” They trotted in a soft silence for a while, enjoying the nature and the sound of the wet mud beneath their feet. Javier began humming again, and John could feel his heartbeat quicken. He sped up the pace of his horse along the narrow trail leading out farther into the wilderness. There was a small alcove in the brush on the side of the road, and John turned back to him. “We get off the road here, and after that, there are a few more minutes of forest to go.” He turned Rachel on a dime into a gap in the trees wide enough to accommodate her and Javier followed, cutting into the lush greenery.

They came upon a wide stream not long after, just as John foretold. The water swelled to its breaking point by the other day’s heavy rain. Its banks were rocky, but not enough for there to be any problems for them. John hopped off of Rachel, hitching her to a nearby tree, Javier did the same. He unloaded the fishing gear from his saddle, and shoved his hand back into his pocket, pulling out the glittering lure. When he turned back around, Javier was squat along the side of the bank, a hand dipped into the water.

“It’s real warm today, and all this swelling means the fish are gonna be coming through really fast.” He turned over to John. “Are you sure this is a good spot.” The other boy just shot him a toothy grin.

“Course it is! Especially with this lure I got, so just get your rod ready and I’ll take care of the rest.” He sauntered up to the bank with his own rod and held the lure out for Javier. “Here, take it.”

His eyes flit from the lure to John, John, the lure. “You better know what you’re talking about Marston.” He laughed and picked up the delicate creature from John’s grip. He flipped it over in his hands, running his long fingers over the scales. A mix of awe and wonder welled up in his eyes as more of the lure was inspected, and John’s pride beamed from his chest. He watched Javier, enraptured in the small expressions he made at every new detail he noticed. “You know Marston,” He started, running a finger along a feather on the tail end. “If nothing else, this lure sure is pretty.” Javier looked back up at him. “You sure I can use this?”

“Well o’ course you can. I gave it to you didn’t I?”

“I suppose you did.”

“Let’s hope the fish like it as much as you do.”

They both laughed and did the final preparations to their rods so that they could finally start tossing them in the water.

  


They fished in relative silence, standing next to each other on the bank. Javier was enthralled at the stream, it was just some medium sized bluegill but he was entirely focused on his goal. John was enthralled with Javier, especially after he started humming to himself, he had these little micro expressions every time he could feel something pulling on him in the water. John was...content. He inched a bit closer to Javier as they stood against the rushing water, raining droplets on the tips of their boots. Wait, they weren’t that close to the bank, why were there so many droplets getting on them? John looked up, a small deluge of water falling away as the brim if his hat tipped backward, the water now getting into his eyes. It had started to drizzle, and by the looks of it, it wouldn’t be long before it became heavy rain.

His plans! Everything he worked for! John's heart sank as the tiny droplets landed on his chin and followed a trail to his collarbone. He sighed and looked at Javier. “Hey, uh, we should probably find some shelter. Or head back to camp.” But Javier was not to be distracted, he had just pulled a bluegill and was holding it out in front of him, a satisfied grin spread across his face. “Javier!”

“Huh? Uh, what?” His eyes locked on John, the swish of his hair sending more water flying at him.

“I said, we should find somewhere dry.” Javier looked up, eyes blinking away the rain that fell onto him.

“Oh, I didn't even realize.” He smiled a little and pulled his line from the stream, catching the lure as it soared out from the water at him. “Do you want this back, Marston?”

“You can keep it, I don’t go fishing that much,” John said, defeated. He shoved his own plain lure in his back pocket and trudged over to Rachel, trying not to soak himself any further from the rain.  _All that time, all that work, gone to waste._

“John wait!” Javier bounded up behind him and Marston turned. Still undoubtedly pleasant, Javier glowed as he smiled at the other boy.

“Oh I’ve been granted the pleasure of my first name--” He was cut off by the shorter boy throwing his arms around him an impromptu kiss, lips crashing into each other as they both got their bearings. If Rachel hadn’t been there to cushion John as he fell back, he was sure he would have just dropped right into the mud. Javier’s lips were so much softer than he imagined, and the brush of his ghost of a mustache almost made John want to laugh. His own lips were chapped, but warm and they glided against the other’s effortlessly aided by the rain and the strange angle that they were in. When John realized what was going on, and _who_ it was doing it he surged forward, encircling Javier in his own arms and dipping him back. The other started to laugh into his mouth, and they parted, gazes connecting.

“Hey, John.” He giggled.

“Two in a row! I must be doing something right.”

Squirming in his grip, Javier laughed even harder, but John peppered more kisses on his cheek and neck.

“We need to--HA! Get back to camp!”

Swooping him back into an upright position, John just held him there inches away from his face. Their breath mingled as their laughter died down, leaving them alone in the silence and the rain.

“I wanted to do that for a long time you know,” John spoke first.

“I know.”

“You wanna take the long way back?”

“Please?”

**Author's Note:**

> So this was something I was working on to get me out of a dry spell, it took me a few days. (Much longer than usual) and its a bit long. Drop a comment if you like, have some criticism, or if you just want to call me a fake gamer girl.


End file.
